Sun Like Shapes

[Guest]

Hi,

 

In the guidance the creative development states that children should

Use ideas involving fitting, overlapping, in, out, enclosure, grids and sun-like shapes.

 

Can anybody suggest an activity for 'sun like shapes' as I'm not sure I understand this?

 

Thanks

Rachael

[Upsy Daisy]

Circles with lines radiating out like children use to draw the sun, hands, etc

[Guest]

Ah thankyou! now it all makes sense.

[Cait]

It is a strange one. I've always taken it to mean that children are doing a mixture of circle shapes and straight lines within the same picture. Not all children do 'sunshine' radiating pictures.

[Upsy Daisy]

You may very well be right Cait. Perhaps I've misinterpreted it.

 

What do others think?

[Guest]

I have always been rather confused by it!

[Cait]

Well to draw a matchstick man , you need to be able to do a combination of circles and straight lines, so I take it to be the ability to do both in a picture, then they can do people, animals, even cars, trees etc. So this step, although in the descriptor it sounds bizarre, is an important one.

[Deb]

I think the sun like shapes is just a part of the development matters statement and describes how children connect circles and straight lines such as in sun like shapes or hands.

[Guest]

I'm glad you've asked the question - it's always caused quite a debate in our team! I think it's the one that doesn't really have any exemplification by it! What lots of you have said makes sense though so thanks.

[Deb]

This reminded me of something I read in Chris Athey's book ' Extending thought in young children' on page 90 of the chapter 'From marks to meanings: the language of lines' she discusses 'core and radials' ie circles and lines.

 

'Marks are co-ordinated and the core and radial is one result. In many cases the radials represent the appendages of main bodies', so these could be a spider with legs, a dog with legs, a flower, a tortoise, a life belt and rope, the sun, a tamborine.

 

Initially children may not be that specific about say the number of legs on the spider but eventually they will become more specific and represent the correct number of legs, and children may point out specific features they have represented using the core (circle) and radials, (the lines coming off the circle) or even inside in the case of a representation of a clock.

[JacquieL]

This might help explain the stages of drawing.

 

http://k-play.com/pdf/The%20Developmental%20Sta.pdf